Not so fast ~ More on Fine Line Art Corp

Now we’re cooking, Bill. The clue you provided was an important one. I believe in transparency in the art market, so here’s what our research revealed:

You’ll recall in my last post that Bill purchased what was represented to him as a limited edition Picasso print from an online source known as finelinegallery.com. The certificate of authenticity that accompanied the piece was issued by Fine Line Art Corp with a New York City address. Read more

Collier Art Corporation? Art Value/Print/Certificate of Authenticity

Over the past few months, Fine Art Registry has received email inquiries regarding numbered prints and a few reports of original paintings with a Certificate of Authenticity from the “Collier Art Corporation”.

The most recent email inquiry is duplicated below, courtesy of Julie C.:

“I recently purchased a watercolor print from a sale. The art piece is numbered with a certificate of authenticity from the “Collier Art Corp” of LA California. The artist is EDA. The name of the print is “Moss Basket”, # 4009-90. On the front of the picture in pencil is the number 265-500. This picture is in a locked frame with the certificate on the back. I am interested in knowing its value in the current market and was hoping you could help me. I would really appreciate any information you could give me…” –July 22, 2006, Julie C.

As a public service I thought it would be nice to report what we found in our unofficial investigation and what better way to do so than the new FAR Blog. It seems there are a number of these prints circulating and although not as many, a few original paintings as well, with a significant number of owners looking for answers regarding the artists who rendered the various works apparently authenticated by Collier, as well as the value of that art.

Regarding the artists who may or may not have produced the art work. The answer is: who knows? We haven’t found a single case where the art work bearing a Certificate of Authenticity from Collier ever resulted in a positive identification or direct connection with any of the artists whose initials or signatures appear on the art work or whether the artists who are purported to have executed the work ever existed at all.

The initials “EDA” that Julie references as belonging to the artist are more likely the initials of the agent acting for Collier at the time. Julie didn’t indicate whether her print was signed but maybe she will follow up with a comment here and provide us with more information.

The Collier Art Corporation is no longer a viable business, meaning that the company no longer has a physical operating presence that we could find in our investigation. These types of companies come and they go over the years and this one seems to have been defunct for quite some time. You have to remember too that this company was in existence long before the advent of the World Wide Web.

However, Fine Art Registry has been able to determine the following information, current as of July 21, 2006:

The Collier Art Corporation was incorporated in Los Angeles on May 22, 1969. The current status of the corporation is “Suspended.” This means that the Collier Corporation has lost all rights and powers for failure to meet statutory filing requirements of either the California Secretary of State’s office or the Franchise Tax Board.

One could try sending a letter of inquiry to the authorized statutory agent for Collier Art Corporation, currently listed with the California Corporation Commission with the following address:

Larry Slaten
3221 S La Cienega Bl
Los Angeles, CA 90016

Your chances of getting a response are slim. And it could very well be stale contact information. But who knows?

The bottom line is the Collier Art Corp prints are probably worth about as much as someone is willing to pay. Depending upon the printing process used and the quality of the print in today’s market, you might expect a value of anywhere from $25 to $250, and I’m being generous here on the high figure. The fact that the print is framed is a plus. More often than not though, the frame is worth more than the print itself. Prints are a dime a dozen these days and Certificates of Authenticity are abused and faked and forged on a regular basis. So much so in fact that they are rarely given any weight whatsoever.